Evaluation

Final production

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMt5jx56AA

This hyperlink leads you to my final production, so you can see what I am evaluating.

Summarise genre research

http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2012/09/27/34/

My original research done towards genre was not specifically suited to my media production as my research was mainly done towards gangster films. However gangster films still slightly apply within the plot of the film however does not necessarily show in the film opening.This slowed me down in some cases however as a whole it was not much of an issue as I was able to research the codes and conventions of mystery, spy, action films within my own time. Also watching films such as Men in Black, Spy Kids, and Taken allowed me to get a thorough understanding of what my task was and how I would be able to complete it to a good level.However as well as looking at mystery, spy and action films, I also had to look at time travel films to get an idea of how I could link the aspect of time travel in effectively. For this I also looked at example of films such as The Time machine.

Men In Blackhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQ41frO-kl

Spy Kids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l6gfHuBd1U

The Time Machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90T7iLuzFgg

The links below lead to the film trailers of the films which I gained my inspiration from. They each have their unique techniques which allowed me to come up with my final ideas for the production.

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?My media genre started of as being a spy/mystery film, however after finalising the storyline and completing my production I have subverted the genre by keeping the main genre of spy and mystery films however I have also incorporated a action, gangster and historical aspects to slightly subvert the genre.Another way in which I have subverted the genre is by adding in a aspect of time travel. This is unique as even though there are films about time travel there are none which I am aware of which also incorporate action, sci-fi and historical genres.

http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2012/10/17/film-opening-analysis/

Looking at various film openings allowed me to gain knowledge on what a film opening contained and how much of the storyline is involved. Most Film openings last about 2-3 minutes. This gave me a guideline on how long my film opening would last.It also gave me an idea of how to incorporate my titles and credits so that they can look professional. The main film opening I looked at and analysed was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This helped me as the film opening creates a sense of mystery which is also what I hope my film opening does. I also looked at other films such as The Parent Trap, and Twilight to gain a understanding of how film openings are put together etc.

Film Opening Analysis

My characters are portrayed to the audience in such a way that the audience can see them however do not know who they are or what they are going to do. The mis match effect I carried out whilst editing makes the viewer slightly confused however this is what I aimed to do and I believe it gives the production a little extra individuality.

In a way the males are represented as the dominant sex as the character in a higher position is the male, however the female is also equally dominant to some extent as the agent in charge of the mission, as such is the female.

Representation

As this character is a female I wanted to portray the character in a unique way as a female secret agent is not very common in films unless she is a main heroine.To her costume I have added femine aspects such as a necklace and mustard gloves. These emphasise individuality whilst still maintaining a secret identity. Also the costume of all black still remains intact so the audience is able to link the characters together.

Agent Hussain

The costume for this character is all black to create a sense of mystery and also emphasises the secrecy aspect. Most secret agent films have agents in a suit and tie however to make my film unique I did not want to follow the typical convention of this costume. Even though the character is dressed in all black it is still to some extent casual so a sense of normality is portrayed. The sunglasses are also used to show that the characters identity is hidden.

Agent Jones

This character is not dressed in all black as I wanted to portray and emphasise to the audience that he is not like the other two characters. As the film progresses, hopefully the audience realise that he is at a higher position than the other two agents. To some extent he could be called a higher ranked agent as he controls the lower rank agents by telling them their task. The sunglasses are used to create a sense of authority and mystery as the characters identity is not revealed as such. The gloves are also used to emphasise the role of a secret agent as he is also hiding a sense of identity through fingerprints.

Sergeant Aftab

Media conglomerates: these are institutions or companies which are grouped together to form a whole however still remain distinct as individual companies.

Columbia Pictures Industries is an American Film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures is a subsidiary of Sony and therefore is one of the largest film companies worldwide. It is part of the Columbia Tristar which has earnt its popularity and is well known.

Media Institutions: A media institution is a company which, produces, exhibits and markets media productions.

One of the reasons as to why it was chosen as the institution is because it is a very well known and popular

institution as it is a Sony entertainment company. Also they have had many successful films such as : Salt,

The Men in Black Trilogy and Charlie's Angels. All of which follow the same Genre, so therefore have codes and

conventions that match my film openings.

Columbia is a very Financially secure company however it was renamed to Sony television pictures in 2002, just before it set the recorded for biggest theatrical gross profit with a profit of $1.575

billion.In 2012 Sony television pictures announced that due to Columbia film releases such as Sky Fall, Men In Black 3, 21 Jump Street etc,

it passed the $4 billion dollar profit margin.

http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2013/01/14/audience-research/

This hyperlink leads to my blog page and my post on audience research. It explains what audience research is and why it is necessary to each individual productions.

After completing my storyboard and synopsis for my film I have decided to classify my media production at an age of 15 as it may contain strong violence etc.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15

Audience Research

The audience profile was young females/males who were above the age of 15, to fit in with the bbfc guidelines. In my opinion I have stuck to this as the concepts of genre of the film is still suitable and the language used is also appropriate.

Audience Research

Completing this task allowed me to develop both technical and communication skills. I was able to use a variety of hardware and software products to make the film opening the best of my ability. Using a mixture of windows and apple software enabled me to build on my ICT skills, allowing me to enhance my performance within media studies.

Technology

Hardware

Macs:These which allowed me to explore a variety of apple software and allowed me to acquire the knowledge and equipment to complete the coursework

The camera which we used was a Sony camcorder. The quality of the camera was okay however it could have been better as the image was not of a high quality

We also used a tripod. This helped to keep the camera steady, to make the film more professional.

Throughout my AS media project I have learnt to use Photoshop in a variety of ways and for a variety of outcomes.I have had to use it to create a logo for my preliminary and anamatic tasks. I also had to use Photoshop to rearrange images to make my film production flow better.

Software

I used garage band as it is one of the only music sources which do not have copyright attached to it. However the sound selection it does have is limited to some extent and it has proven to be very time consuming, as looking for the right sounds are not as easy.

Final Cut Express was the main software used throughout this task as it was a base for the editing of the film. Using final cut at first was a bit difficult however it was easy to overcome this problem by editing other things as practice

If I could improve my practical aspect I would have shot alot more so that I was able to get more footage so that it would be more accessible to edit.

I also would have managed my time more effectively so that I had more time finalising and polishing my final production.

I also would have spent more time improving sound as the sound effects could have been better to suit the mood of the film more. Even though it links in it is not ideally perfect which is what if I redid the production id hope to get a perfect outcome.

Improvements

Overall I am quite pleased with the final result of my practical coursework as it came out to a good standard although I am disappointed to some extent as I feel it could have been higher quality. After loosing original footage of the film opening, and then completing it as an individual over a time period of two days, whilst adapting the storyline and locations to what were accessible was a difficult task as I had no help or second input on the whole. I also feel that this is where I struggled within the editing aspect as I also completed the majority of the editing as an individual as the second member of my group was rarely present. I felt this quite a set back as I was not technically aware of the programmes so struggled to complete the editing to a good standard.

The sound was also quite a disappointing outcome as I feel I did not manage my time effectively so was not able to experiment to get the sound that matched perfectly.

Final Summary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictures

References